Nothing Ever Lasts Forever
by Majestic NightFury
Summary: A lot can happen in a year. For Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, life couldn't be better. They're partners working at the ZPD and some of the best cops in the city. Things aren't all sunshine and pixie dust in the big city, though. Despite what some might think, the night howler case was only the beginning in a much larger conspiracy, one with a much larger impact.


**Chapter 1**

Judy felt a sharp pain in her right leg as she and Nick Wilde, a red fox she had been unofficially working with to solve what she and had dubbed the 'Night Howler' case, were knocked into one of exhibits in the natural history museum that was close to the grey police rabbit's place of work, the central precinct of the ZPD. The entire case itself had started with the disappearance of fourteen seemingly unrelated animals, aside from the fact that they were all predators, over a long period of time. Of course, the original case had been closed when she had discovered that the then previous mayor of Zootopia had been imprisoning animals that had fallen into fits of hyper-aggressiveness nod near insanity. Once the rabbit had discovered the cause of the behavior, though, it had evolved into something that threatened the livelihood of every predator within the city, and she wasn't about to let it go on any longer.

The animal responsible for everything was the former deputy and current mayor, Dawn Bellweather, a sheep now looking down on the two from the edge of the pit they had been knocked into. A smug smile was plastered on her lips while the rams that had been chasing Judy and the fox stood by. "It really is a shame that you had to go out like this. I was really hoping that you would've gone along with all of this willingly." She said, waving her hooves for effect. "You were a good cop,better than all the others at the ZPD. Unfortunately, you know to much and I doubt you would actually want to join our cause now that you know what our intentions really are." As she spoke,her voice dripping with mock pity, the sheep grabbed a pistol custom made to shoot spheres containing the night howler serum and looked it over, making sure that it hadn't been externally damaged. She did check for damages in the ammunition and noticed a blueberry where a night howler dart was supposed to be. The sheep didn't take long to load the proper ammunition.

Judy's ears folded back as she stood, looking the mayor dead in the eye. The rabbit knew that Bellweather had found out about their plan, and was scared beyond belief, but she couldn't let it show. That would only signify that the sheep had won. "So what are you going to do? Kill us? Make us attack each other?" She asked.

The sheep couldn't help but laugh, before turning her attention back to the pair. "Oh, I'm not going to kill you." She said, her expression hardening to better suit the criminal mastermind that she was. "He is." As soon as she finished, the sheep shot a dart at Nick, striking him in the cheek and causing the blue liquid to splatter against his fur.

"No!"Judy yelled, turning to see Nick on the ground, trying to stay in control. "Nick, you have to fight it, please."

"Oh, but he can't. All predators are naturally predisposed to be aggressive, at least that's what you said at that stupid press conference, and that's all anyone will ever know." Bellweather said.

Judy moved away from Nick and turned to face Bellweather. She could hear Nick struggling and tearing at his clothes, hoping that she would be able to get out of the pit soon"You won't get away with this. Someone will eventually find out. Fear never works."

The sheep rolled her eyes and simply began to dial the number for the ZPD. "Fear always works, and I'll dart every predator in Zootopia if I have to."

That was all that Judy needed. Now she just had to stall for time. The rabbit then turned to face Nick, who was now out of his cloths and directing his full attention towards her. As soon as their eyes met, the fox lunged forward in an attempt to attack Judy, but the rabbit knew what was coming. Before he landed on her, she knocked him away with a replica of a regular deer and moved into the brush. She could hear Bellweather making a call to the police, along with the sounds of Nick ripping the deer apart. The rabbit acted like she was looking for a way to escape and after a few seconds, Nick's head came out of the tall grass in front of her. His eyes making it evident that the fox she knew was gone, replaced by a 'savage' animal. Before the rabbit could react, he lunged and bit into her neck. She didn't even have time to scream. After a few moments, blood pooled on the artificial ground underneath her and the world went dark after a few moments.

* * *

Judy Hopps woke up in a cold sweat in her relatively small apartment, and instinctually placed a paw on her neck. She'd had nightmares before, but none as realistic or as graphic as that. The gray rabbit then slowly stood, moving towards a window that had a decent view of the street below. Thankfully her two antelope neighbors were either asleep or out for a night on the town, so she wouldn't have to deal with them yelling at her before targeting each other. The rabbit was planning to move out, but she didn't know when or where. The city didn't have many housing options that were in her price range, but she was determined to find something. Judy then directed her attention towards a picture of every animal, herself included, at the first precinct, and a slight smile spread on her lips.

Almost a year had come and gone after she and her current partner and best friend, Nick Wilde, had stopped Bellweather from taking over the city of Zootopia, one of the most diverse and largest cities in the world. It was a place where anyone could be anything, and after everything that had happened, Judy couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Sure she had a rough start, but things were better now, for her, Nick, and relationships between prey and predator.

Judy was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her icarrot go off. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was to early for her parents to be calling her, so that only left a limited number of possibilities. When she picked up the phone, she was surprised to see that Nick was calling her, the selfie of both partners in the background giving it away. Judy knew that foxes were nocturnal creatures, but didn't really know why he would be trying to contact her. "Hopefully everything's ok." She thought, before accepting the call. "Hey, Nick. what's up. You normally save all your puns for when we're actually on the job."

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to respond, Carrots, and for the record, I give my jokes free of charge at any time. Fortunately for you, I don't have any new material." Nick's voice was as calm and sly as ever. There was also a hint of tiredness in his voice, but neither decided to point it out. "So, what has my favorite little bunny been up to."

Judy gave a slight smile as she sat at the small desk in her apartment. The rabbit honestly loved her partner's puns, and both knew it. "Oh nothing much. Just trying to sleep." She said. "To be honest, I'm not having that much success."

"Aww. Did you have a little nightmare. You can alway come over and I could protect you if anymore enter that head of yours."

The comment itself wasn't really that suggestive, but that didn't stop her ears from lowering and her cheeks from turning a light pink. "Maybe next time, my sly fox." As she spoke, the rabbit glanced at the clock on her phone and was surprised that it was five in the morning. Judy moved the phone closer to here ear so she could here her friend.

"Yeah. I'm the sly fox and you're the emotional rabbit. No wonder we make such a good pair. So, what was your nightmare about? It must've been pretty bad." As Nick spoke, his voice shifted from amused to concerned in terms of tone.

Judy debated on whether or not she should've told Nick about her dream before she had picked up the phone, weighing the possible outcomes of both. If she told him, the rabbit knew it would bring up bad memories and possibly worry Nick. If she didn't, then he wouldn't have to worry about it, but she would most likely continue to think about it for who knew how long. As soon as he asked her about it, though, she decided to go for the former. "To be honest, I don't really remember." She said.

Nick gave a low hum, but eventually continued the conversation. "Ok. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you." He said, seeing right through her. "Anyway, I know a few places that are open early. You want to get a bite to eat before we head into work?"

Judy felt her cheeks turn a darker shade of red and nearly dropped her phone in surprise. After a few moments, her thoughts returned to her. The two wouldn't have to be at work for three hours, and she didn't really have any plans for the morning. "Yeah. That would be nice." She said.

"Great. It's a date, then. I'll be over in an hour." Before the rabbit could respond, the fox hung up, not giving Judy time to even react to what had been said.

The rabbit sighed as she laid her phone and head on the desk, her long ears flopping forwards. "That fox is going to be the death of me." She muttered, laughing slightly. To be honest, she wasn't expecting him to go as far to say that it was a date, but she knew that it was all in jest. At least, that's what she rabbit then quickly proceeded to go through her usual morning routine. The last thing she wanted was for Nick to wait on her. After everything that had happened between the two of them, the night howler case, their continual work at the ZPD, and every moment they spent together, she was happy that she had met and became friends with Nick. Of course, nothing ever lasts forever.

 **To be honest, I thought I would never return to this site. However, after watching Zootopia and reading a few fanfics associated with it, I think I'm ready to get back in the game. As for the nightmare scene, that was just a simple alternate ending to the movie itself, with a few bits added in for tension. Anyway, feel free to leave a bit of criticism or compliment. Both help.**


End file.
